There appears to be a few small metallic fragments clinging to the magnet around the port where the MagSafe power connecter attaches to my MacBook Air. I can still get the cord to (mostly) seat, enough to charge the computer, but it's not as snug a fit as it used to be. How can I clean my MagSafe port?

13 Answers
13

Start with a pencil eraser or small wooden dowel / tool to gently dislodge the debris. As the magnets are very strong, you may need to use tape with a strong adhesive to grab the foreign material. Clear packing tape strikes a good balance between not leaving residue and getting the crud out. Duct tape also is nice, but a bit more sticky and may grab the plastic covering if it is wearing or the adhesive is warm from internal heat.

So:

Power off the mac

Let the connector cool

Be gentle - don't tear the magsafe covering

know you can get it serviced with a new connector if needed for approx $40 in labor and the part might run you between $10 and $40 depending on the model.

And I know Apple recommends a toothbrush and a cotton swab. The first will get off huge easily removed debris, but not staples and highly magnetic items that are small. The latter is actually quite nice in many cases as it will grab items with a sharp edge. Usually when things are gunked up enough to displace the adapter - you'll have many fine pieces accumulated and need tape or stronger tools than a q-tip.

Thanks for the tip. I ended up using the adhesive portion of a Post-It Note, and the metallic debris came out fine. The downside is I never got a picture of the trouble.
– Daniel♦Apr 26 '12 at 20:22

4

I used part of a post-it note as well and that worked surprisingly well. Just folded it on the sticky part and started wiping away all the magnetic debris.
– methodManJan 24 '13 at 21:17

I wish there were a plastic cover I could put on the port to avoid debris getting in there to begin with when I put my macbook in my backpack. I know I sould probably put the whole macbook in some protective cover but I'm lazy.
– OveshMar 13 '15 at 0:49

Hi, I accidentally tore the mag safe covering...What can I do now?
– Ruchir BaroniaMar 15 '16 at 23:45

@RuchirBaronia You could have it services or perhaps post a new thread with a picture of what yours looks like. Losing the plastic sleeve on the computer end isn't often a big problem.
– bmike♦Mar 16 '16 at 0:37

Here's the solution I used to clean out metal fragments in my connector socket:
Use Blu-Tack or Sticky Tack! This cleans out the connector socket almost immediately and it took less than a penny's worth of tack! Just roll it around in the connector and it'll work fine :)

To clean the DC plug on either the computer or the power adapter,
disconnect the adapter from the wall outlet and/or remove the battery
from the computer. Remove debris gently with a cotton swab or a soft
bristle toothbrush, which provide the strength, flexibility, and
precision for this task. Be careful not to get any cotton fibers stuck
in the pin receptacle. You may use isopropyl alcohol to aid in
cleaning the connectors as well. Be sure the connectors are dry before
using the computer or adapter after cleaning.

Note: The power adapter port contains a magnet that can erase data on
a credit card or other magnetic device if it gets too close. In order
to preserve and protect your data, Apple recommends that you keep
magnetic media away from the power adapter port.

Once I got small pieces of iron stuck in the port - none of the magnets we had were stronger than the one in the port. We couldn't flick them out with a clean paintbrush and the hole was too small to put fingernails in. We ended up getting it out with blue tack!

I used a wooden toothpick, but not as you would expect. I broke it in half, ensuring there were a number of fibers splayed out from the broken ends. The metallic particle then became caught in these and was very easily removed.

I just went through this myself - a couple pieces of metal got into my port - toothbrush and pen tip were worthless and only sticky thing I had around were some breath right strips which didn't work = What did work was cutting a 45 degree angle off a Q-tip - I happen to have the type with a hollow blue plastic inside - this allowed me to use the bottom edge to scoop the frags and the hollow plastic kept it from just clinging back on so I could scoop it.

There were microscopic metal bits stuck magnetically to the MagSafe port on my laptop. I fixed it by making several pointy edges of tape, sticky side out. I went completely around the 4 sides of the port. I did this several times until the MagSafe connector worked reliably.

MacBook Pro feel into sand at beach... Magsafe instantly spawned a cancerous growth of iron particles on the magsafe charging port.... The cable wouldn't really connect and when it could it wasn't charging merely accepting power. Scraping stuff out was slow if not effective but still the adapter wasn't great. Luckily someone has some compressed air and I blew that crap right out!

One way that I used to get some iron out of my MagSafe port was taking deep breaths and blowing out really hard directing the air into the port. If you blow hard enough the pieces should just fly straight out. One tip is just doing for at least one minute, at first, it didn't seem to work but with lots of effort it got the job done relatively fast.